Guardians
by Saru Wolfe
Summary: Jack, Miko, and Raf didn't expect to get mixed up with a group of giant alien robots, but in the end they think it worked out well for both parties: the kids and the Decepticons. Mirrorverse/Shattered Glass.


**Notes: Rather than working off any official Shattered Glass canon, this is simply a mirrored version of Transformers Prime, for entertainment purposes. I hope you are entertained!**

* * *

First there was the distinctive noise of a ground bridge. Then came lumbering metallic footfalls on the rocky ground. They pounded along with the pace of someone with a mission but without any particular hurry.

Finally, there was a high, fast-paced, boisterous voice, saying, "All _right_! The ultimate fighting team, here to kick butt and take names! Autobots beware!"

Even if anyone had been within earshot, they would have found the combination of sounds more than familiar. Equally familiar was the gruff tone of Breakdown's response. "We're just here to check on the energon mine. That's all."

Miko folded her arms from where she stood on his shoulder. She'd had a lot of practice balancing there, just as he'd learned to walk a little more evenly. "Come on. We're out on a mission! Something exciting _could_ happen."

"Exciting for me." Breakdown eyed her. "Deadly for you. Got it?"

The girl heaved a sigh too big for her tiny frame, but replied, "Got it."

Breakdown didn't really think anything exciting was going to happen; otherwise he wouldn't have taken Miko with him. In reality, doing a check-up on a mine was a little beneath him, but it needed to be done and the girl clearly needed to get out. The other kids were fine with staying on the _Nemesis_, but they could never keep Miko cooped up too long. She'd just find her own adventure. And no one wanted that.

Megatron had gotten Soundwave to pick out the most isolated locations for their mines so they wouldn't run into the natives, and chatty as they could be on break, the Vehicons were all but silent when they were on duty, so Breakdown didn't expect to hear much of anything as they approached. Instead of silence, though, there was a sharp, high sound. Mining machinery?

No, that was definitely blaster fire. Breakdown peered over the edge of the huge pit they had dug out to see two of the Autobots on the offensive, guns blazing. "Scrap."

"What? What is it?" Miko was leaning forward on her hands and knees in an attempt to see the action.

"'Bots." Breakdown backed up a bit, grabbed a protesting Miko, and set her on a wide ledge. He frowned at her. "Stay here."

"Fine," she sighed.

""M not kidding."

"I'll stay right here," Miko assured him. She flopped over so that she was sprawled against a rock, hands folded behind her head. "I won't move an inch."

Breakdown grunted, unimpressed. "That's what you said in Ohio."

"Hey! Don't bring that up—that was forever ago!"

"Two weeks."

"For-e-ver," Miko repeated.

Scowling, he pointed at her to emphasize his seriousness about this, and then left to help the Vehicons defend the mine. She had better stay there. Otherwise Knockout was going to kill him.

* * *

"We ran into some trouble."

Of _course_ they had. Knockout silently threw his hands up in the air. Lord Megatron did no such thing, instead frowning slightly at the comm. panel. "Autobots?" he prompted.

"Yes, sir. Two of them—Bulkhead and, uh, Arcee."

Jack was sitting on one of the walkways that had been installed. He seemed to prefer being closer to optic level. Now he leaned forward, concern tugging at his features. "Is Miko okay?" he asked quietly. Megatron nodded to acknowledge him and relayed the question to Breakdown.

"Yes, Lord Megatron. She's fine."

Knockout hummed, fingers clicking on crossed arms. That was good news, at least. The Autobot attack on the energon mine, not so much. They had been more aggressive of late. Knockout knew they had more than enough energon to sustain the five of them, what with the captured supply. Their search for more could only mean that their medic was on another scientific rampage. Knockout repressed a professional shudder. The human children had been next in line before he, Starscream, and Soundwave had gotten there.

Knockout slipped out of the bridge and met Breakdown as he entered the ship. "_Where's_ Miko?" he inquired.

Breakdown pointed slightly behind him, affronted. "She's right there."

Lo and behold, she actually was. The girl marched up to stand beside Breakdown, grinning toothily. "We showed those 'Bots who was boss!" she crowed, slamming a fist into her open palm.

"We?" Knockout drawled. "I'm sure your shrill whining was very effective in chasing them away."

She blew out a breath, folding her arms in a petulant imitation of Knockout. "Whatever. You're just jealous because you didn't get to go." She waved a hand and started off down the corridor.

"Mhmm." Knockout watched her go. "Guess that means you'll be jealous when you don't get to race."

"Whoa!" Miko bounced to a halt and came sprinting back. "You're going racing today? Are you serious?" She threw a few excited punches at what she could reach of him. "When are we going?"

The medic smirked. "Well, I never race with brats, do I?"

She threw one more punch, this one a bit harder. "Come _on_! I did what Breakdown said and missed out on all the fun. Please, Knockout?"

Knockout threw a questioning look to Breakdown, who shrugged. "'S true."

It was progress. Still, Knockout pretended to think long and hard about it, risking more near-intangible blows from the impatient human. "I suppose you can come along, then."

"_Yes_!"

The comm. interrupted them. "Breakdown." Megatron's tone reminded them that they had been lingering for longer than they should have been. "Report to the bridge."

"Yes, Lord Megatron."

"And then to the med bay," Knockout added smoothly. Breakdown made a less formal response to that—more of a grunt than any kind of agreement—and strode in the direction of the bridge.

Miko fell into step beside Knockout. "So any major surgery today?" she pressed. "Replacing important fuses? Repairing t-cogs?"

"Ha! Afraid not." Ever since she had been witness to some reconstruction after Starscream had gotten the scrap beaten out of him, she'd been eager to see him perform 'super complicated life-saving stuff.' She made a fair audience. "Just a little cosmetic work on Airachnid."

Miko's entire upper body drooped in frustrated disappointment, and she developed a pout. "Did she lose a leg again?" she asked, almost sounding sullenly hopeful about it.

Knockout smirked. "Maybe. Just try not to antagonize her while she can hear you. It's much harder for me to work on patients when they're busy trying to reach over and hit you."

"You're no fun," she complained. "You or Breakdown."

Knockout mulled over several possible responses to that, all sarcastic, but in the end he decided against it. The fact that she was still half-jogging to the med bay alongside him, now babbling about how the Autobots didn't stand a chance with Breakdown on the loose, rather spoke for itself.

* * *

There was no need for a lengthy debriefing. This encounter with the Autobots was no different from the last, or the one before it. Megatron dismissed Breakdown quickly, leaving only Soundwave and Jack on the upper portion of the bridge with him. Soundwave was still and unconcerned as usual, his focus on the console before him, but the young human watched Megatron stalk along the length of the bridge, growling as he went. The Autobots rarely made such rash moves without reason. They had what was necessary to support themselves, so these latest attacks were not part of a resource war. There was something, something specific, for which they felt they needed more energon. Megatron doubted he had to tell Soundwave what should be done, but he made his commands clear anyway. "Soundwave. Continue monitoring any possible Autobot communications. Watch for any other materials they may take."

Soundwave turned only enough to nod his acknowledgement and went back to the communications console. Jack stirred, frowning. "You think they're making something?"

"It is possible," Megatron rumbled. If so, it was vital to know what, as soon as possible. "Your people record what goes missing or is stolen, surely."

"Uh—yeah. Police reports." Jack stared distractedly at a point just to Megatron's right.

Megatron eyed the boy. He was accustomed to Jack's full attention in these matters, but now the human's thoughts were clearly elsewhere. "Jack."

"Sorry," was the boy's immediate response as he blinked up at Megatron. "Police reports. If the Autobots take something, whoever owned it would probably at least report it."

"Very well." Megatron glanced to Soundwave, who he was certain had heard every word. "There is little to do but wait and listen," he growled reluctantly.

"Your favorite part," Jack muttered, and when Megatron looked he was offering a small, teasing smile. The Decepticon leader all but harrumphed at him.

The hiss of the door caught Megatron's attention, and he turned to see Starscream strutting onto the bridge. The seeker's wings were angled high, and across his face danced the pleased smirk he always utterly failed to repress. "Lord Megatron," he greeted. "I have good news."

Megatron had not much faith in Starscream's announcements of good news. "Speak, then."

"I have contrived a way to slow the Autobots' attacks on our resources," Starscream declared with a sweeping gesture. "As you know, Knockout has taken on synthetic energon as a side project. One of his recent attempts turned out to be… particularly useless. Oh, the compound is similar enough to energon for a short time, but it decays quickly." At Megatron's impatient nod, he hastily continued, "But on to its application—should we entice the Autobots to attack a particular energon store—say a false one filled with this mimic compound—they will return to base thinking themselves victorious. By the time they discover it has no real value as fuel, it will be far too late. They may even put some to use before it breaks down." He smiled. "It would be some time before they struck again, and even when they did, they would be slower to pick a target."

That appeared to be the end of the presentation; Starscream was watching him eagerly. Megatron ground out a thoughtful hum, leaning back slightly. "No."

"_What_?" It was little better than a yelp, the opposite of his smooth, persuasive tones employed a few moments ago. Starscream's wings dropped. "Ah—why not, my liege?"

"We do not need a scheme with the chance of hindering these attacks; we need a way to _stop_ them. Ensuring that the Autobots found and raided one mine in particular, without any problems, would not be worth the effort of merely slowing them down."

Starscream brought his fingers together, chastised but persistent. "Meaning… we require a more forceful plan?"

"Yes."

The seeker frowned in thought. "I could speak to Knockout…."

Jack straightened. "Wait—uh, Lord Megatron." Megatron ignored the indignant look his second shot Jack and faced the boy. Jack grimaced slightly. "We're not going to poison them, are we?"

That had been, of course, the next logical step for Megatron to consider. Starscream's plan was not unintelligent; it merely needed to be more efficient. Such measures required no small amount of deliberation. However, Megatron had allowed Jack to become more and more involved in the strategic portion of the war. The human's morals were commendable, and he showed a quiet but determined loyalty to them. Megatron could have explained that tactics such as poison were undesirable but an option nonetheless—but he was loath to discourage that constancy to what was right. And so after a few moments, his response was, "We are not."

Starscream took his cue. "Understood, Lord Megatron."

"Dismissed."

After Starscream's departure, Jack lapsed back into distraction. Megatron glowered in his direction for a few moments before losing patience. "Jack. You have some concern?"

Instead of answering, the boy shifted his weight uncomfortably. Megatron waited him out. He would respond eventually. At last he met Megatron's gaze, face drawn and eyes wider than usual. "You don't think they need more energon for another experiment, do you? One of Ratchet's?"

There was no use comforting him. It was a real possibility. "Soundwave," Megatron ordered quietly, "watch for reports of missing humans, as well."

Jack folded his arms over the railing of the walkway and dropped his chin onto them. "Great."

Megatron stood squarely in front of him and gave him a firm look. "Fortunately, that is no longer an immediate concern for you," he reminded the boy.

Jack's shoulders relaxed, and he nearly smiled. "Yeah."

That point made, Megatron nodded and turned his attention back to the wide view screen that was the focal point of the bridge. The humans need not fear for their safety, but the matter still worried Megatron. Whatever the Autobots were doing, it needed to be stopped, and quickly.

* * *

Starscream had worked himself up into quite the fit of disappointment and irritation by the time he got back to his lab. Normally, under such circumstances, there was nothing more annoying than seeing someone cheery. He would make a small exception for Rafael, though.

The human was still working on his laptop when Starscream entered. "Hi, Starscream!" was his chipper greeting. He did not look up, still peering through his glasses. He had gone through several versions of a patch that would allow his operating system to connect more directly with the computers on the ship.

Starscream did not retort in anger, but he wasn't exactly joyous, either. "Mm."

At that noncommittal response, Rafael did look up. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing," Starscream sighed, perhaps a bit petulantly. "Lord Megatron had no interest in my strategy."

Rafael's brow furrowed. "The one with the fake energon?"

"He thought it ineffective," the seeker told him indignantly, using his further complaints as an affirmative answer. "He did not think it worth the trouble."

"But you can use some other version of it, right?"

Starscream waved a hand, voice dropping in resignation. "The only other option would be to not only render the false energon inert, but to make it harmful. And that he would not consider."

Rafael scrunched his nose sympathetically. "Oh."

"Indeed," Starscream drawled, folding his arms. "Essentially rendering the entire plan useless. No doubt it was cast aside in favor of Soundwave gathering information—or some basic assault." He snorted. "Gladiators."

"At least if he's planning to attack, you can look forward to that," Rafael reasoned. At Starscream's raised brow, he continued, "He'll call in the seekers. We have the air and the Autobots don't. It just makes sense."

"That much is true," Starscream agreed, eyes a touch brighter. Rafael beamed and returned to his laptop. The Decepticon paced the lab restlessly, trying to tweak and twist his idea into something that could be of use. There were not many options besides the defenses of the mines that had already been put in place, and Soundwave was watching for any hints of the Autobots' plans. They could aim for a more direct source of information, but capturing an Autobot could prove more harmful than helpful. There was no guarantee any of them would talk, and they tended to take slights to their small team _extremely_ personally.

"Hey," Rafael piped up, interrupting his musings. "Starscream?" Starscream turned to see him standing with his laptop carefully cradled in his arms. "Could I get to the console?"

Starscream wordlessly supplied a hand, fingers curled slightly to prevent falling. He could feel him bounce slightly as he carried the little human to the console. "You have made a breakthrough?" the seeker asked as he placed Rafael on the flat space beside the keys.

"I think I've got it, actually," the boy told him, pushing his glasses up. "It should work. All I have to do is link them up."

"Ah. Allow me." Starscream entered a command into the console as Rafael did the same on his much smaller version. The link was established within seconds, and Rafael tilted the laptop screen so they could both see the results. Starscream leaned forward eagerly.

Rafael tapped a few keys, biting his lip. The laptop screen blacked out momentarily, then reappeared as the image of the console screen. "Got it!" Rafael grinned upward.

"Well? Go on, test it," Starscream urged.

A click pulled up a file, and another translated the text into English. "Yes!"

Starscream glanced to the console, but the file did not appear there. "They act as separate consoles with the same hard drive?"

Rafael was still smiling. "Yeah, exactly!"

"Now we can work on projects at the same time," Starscream realized. His wings flickered slightly as he considered the possibilities.

Rafael scooted to a better position on the console. "What should we do first?"

"The new missile design," Starscream decided grandly, one finger held up. He opened the file, as did Rafael, and within minutes had decided that this was infinitely easier than their earlier collaboration. Rafael could make his input without interrupting Starscream's or having to offer lengthy instructions to make a simple change. A few comments were exchanged, and Starscream muttered to himself on occasion, but overall this made for much quieter sessions. Both of them could simply work—and work they did. After a time, though, the human broke the relative silence.

"Starscream?"

"Yes?"

"I thought it was a pretty good plan."

Starscream's smile was slow but warmer than usual. "It was, wasn't it?" He sighed, striking a rather dramatic pose with a hand over his spark. "Ah, well. I'm bound to have another stroke of genius soon enough."

Rafael laughed, and Starscream couldn't stop a grin of his own. Being laughed at was not something he would take from many beings, but Rafael persistently managed to be an exception.

* * *

The commotion at the other end of the room may or may not have been intended as a diversion, but it certainly worked as one. Knockout was already an exhibitionist; combined with Miko, he was a spectacle, with the girl calling out his fanfare in the form of increasingly unlikely claims.

"He'll be finishing the race ahead of people still on their second lap," she was saying. She craned her neck to look up at Knockout. "They're doing laps this time, right?"

Knockout smiled indulgently. "Three, yes."

"You can't say she's not enthusiastic," Jack noted, also watching the group from across the room. Megatron snorted lightly. He could think of no occasion in which the girl was not hyperactive and opinionated, but it seemed that trait tripled when it came to Knockout and Breakdown.

"You should come," she was insisting to Rafael. "It'll be awesome!"

Starscream put a hand on his hip. "Oh, yes, nothing is more fascinating than watching cars try to be the fastest to go in a circle," he sneered, rolling his wrist sarcastically.

"Sounds fun!" Rafael said. Starscream adopted an utterly offended expression.

"Can I ride with you while you race?" Miko demanded of the medic.

"Mm." Knockout mercilessly stretched out the pause before his answer. "No."

"Aw, come on!"

"You can sit with me, Miko," Rafael offered.

"Indeed someone should," Starscream muttered. "I have heard of what kind of crowd comes to these races."

Knockout waved a hand. "He'll be fine."

"If you say so," Starscream replied dubiously.

"A couple of Vehicons will be there," Knockout assured him. "They'll be enough. It's not as though you can come stand guard yourself."

"You'd kind of stand out," Rafael admitted. "Sorry, Starscream."

Megatron could not hear what Starscream muttered in reply from that distance. He could, however, hear Miko's shouted "You should come, too, Jack!"

Jack tried to look thoughtful, but he was already starting to brighten. "Well…"

"Yeah, you should come!" Rafael chimed in. He trotted over to the older boy. "We're always telling our parents we're hanging out together. Let's actually do it!"

Jack hesitated and looked to Megatron. Megatron did not convey any obvious signs of encouragement. That would have been out of the question. But he did lift a brow and shrug fractionally, and that was permission enough. Jack smiled a little at Rafael's pleading look. "Okay. Let's go."

Miko whooped. The human children hurried over to pile into Knockout's alt mode as a Vehicon opened the ground bridge. Miko raced Rafael for the front seat, a competition refereed by Jack, who ended up holding Miko back by the arms while Rafael won the race. He endured the playful beating he got afterward, laughing, and a moment later they had all disappeared through the ground bridge.

That was one difference between Jack and the Orion Pax Megatron remembered. Orion, for all his quiet willingness and compassion, had never connected so with his friends, had never taken time to enjoy what he had. Perhaps things would turn out differently this time.


End file.
